Wave power in the south west is coming closer. A site in St Just is one of three in Cornwall being tossed around as a possible location for a possible sight.
So how does wave power work? The water moves up and down the shaft moving the air which turns a turbine making electricity. At the Bottallack Mine in St Just the wind speeds are 100 metres an hour making it an ideal candidate for wind power.
But in Cornwall people have complained about side effects from the wave power turbines including nausea and headaches.
The Isles of Scilly hasn’t been named as a sight but on the islands the average wave comes in at 40 kilowatts per metre, twice the power of waves hitting Lundy Island. So the islands could be seen as an ideal location.
But wave power isn’t just constricted to mines- sea beds are another option as the force of the tides can also help generate energy.
By Ben Sutcliffe